Sharpness at 50mm

The sharpness tests for this review were carried out using a real-world subject rather than a test chart. The Nikon Z MC 50mm F2.8 lens was attached to a Nikon Z7 II camera body, which in turn was mounted on a sturdy tripod. Self-timer mode was activated. Slight tonal changes are due to slight changes in natural light during the session.

The full frame at 50mm

At the focusing distance required for the subject, the widest aperture is f/3.2. Even wide open, sharpness is excellent at the centre of the frame, and maintains that excellence through to f/16. After that, at f/22 and f/25, the centre of the image appears much softer when viewed at 100%. When viewed at normal sizes, a good overall impression of sharpness is seen throughout the aperture range. At the edges of the image, the sharpest results can be seen between f/8 and f/22.

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/2.8
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22